Tobias directed Amar to head back to the tunnel to pick up Uriah, eager to return to the Bureau as soon as possible. They waited in the van when they arrived, each absorbed in their own thoughts. It was awkward at first; though Tobias had long known about Amar's feelings towards him, he had never heard him say it so bluntly before. Amar glanced over at Tobias, noticing his hands were covered in dried blood, and there were spatters all over his face. He took a deep breath and hopped out, gathering a canteen and the med kit from the back.

Amar opened the passenger door, and motioned for Tobias to give him his hands. Tobias turned in his seat and allowed Amar to pour water over them; he carefully rubbed each hand as he washed away his father's blood. Amar was gentle as he patted his hands dry, and rubbed a healing salve over the broken skin on his knuckles. Tobias took a deep breath as memories of him and his mother helping each other came flooding back. It was a kindness that he didn't expect in this moment, one he didn't quite know how to repay.

Amar wet a small rag and examined Tobias's face, tenderly wiping away the blood. Tobias closed his eyes and let Amar take care of him, allowing the trust that had built between them to finally show. He was desperate for comfort, even if it was only for a moment. Amar tossed the bloodied rag aside when he was done and rinsed his own hands, reeling from his own wave of emotions. He and Tobias had always had a bond of sorts, but now it had transformed into something unbreakable, the two of them bound forever thanks to Marcus. Instinctively, Amar leaned forward and kissed Tobias gently on the forehead.

He had never regretted making his feelings known, but the startled look on Tobias's face made him second-guess his decision. He turned away hastily, only to feel a tight grip on his arm. "Wait." Amar turned back to see only kindness reflected on Tobias's face. Tobias tugged on Amar's arm as he stood and pulled him close, squeezing him tightly. Amar reciprocated, laying his head on his shoulder and feeling the warmth between them.

"I don't know if I've ever said it out loud," Tobias started, "But I had a really shitty childhood." They both chuckled as they broke apart, Tobias's face falling serious again. "You've shown me more in the past few years about what it means to be a family than I learned in my whole life from…" Tobias stopped and was silent for a moment, his eyes closing as the memories flooded in. He swallowed hard, looking at Amar again before continuing. "I know I haven't always been the easiest person to put up with, but you never gave up on me. You've always been there, and I am a better person because of it. Amar, I…"

"Stop. You don't have to," Amar said, averting his eyes. He already knew how Tobias felt about him, and conversely, how he felt about Tris. He didn't want or need to hear it out loud.

"No, I do have to. Amar, I need you to know that you are my family. That you are my blood."

Amar stared up at Tobias for a brief moment then nodded a few times, unable to speak as he staved off the tears pricking at the back of his eyes. He had long known that Tobias would never reciprocate his feelings, but he also understood that a familial bond, one which Tobias willingly chose, held even more significance to both of them. Tobias didn't trust easily, and it was difficult for him to express emotions other than anger. This openness, acceptance, and vulnerability from Tobias, so rare but heartfelt, was far more poignant to him than any romantic 'I love you' could ever be.

Tobias offered him a shy smile which Amar answered with a grin and a small shove to his shoulder, ready to move past the seriousness of their conversation. "Alright then. That's enough of that. Let's go see if your new friends have shown up yet."

They made their way through the tunnel side by side, not bothering with the scanner as they entered the room. Eventually, they heard voices coming from down the hall, and Amar was surprised when he came face-to-face with someone he recognized. "Zeke?"

"Amar! What the…" Zeke brought his hands up to his head. "Am I dreaming? Am I still under the simulation? This has got to be the weirdest day of my life."

"You aren't dreaming," Uriah said from behind him, nodding at Tobias. "This is my brother Zeke, and this is Christina," he said, motioning to the girl who was eyeing him warily. "This is Four, the guy I told you about."

"This is all you're bringing?" Tobias asked.

"All we could find, for now." The three of them exchanged glances.

"Where's the rest of the faction?" Amar asked.

"Not at Dauntless. Some are at Erudite. Others…"

"Headed to Candor, maybe. Or Amity," Christina finished for Zeke. "I heard both theories while I was trying to find people I knew or recognized."

"And Abnegation?" Tobias asked.

"A ghost town. Literally." Christina smacked Zeke on the arm. "What?"

"There's something I need to take care of," Tobias said, pulling Amar aside. "It's for Tris. Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty."

"I'll go with you," Uriah said, stepping forward. He had a feeling he knew what Tobias wanted to do; Uriah felt like he was a part of things now and wanted to see it through to the end. Tobias gave him a quick nod.

The others waited behind while Tobias gathered Natalie, Uriah leading the way. It was surreal for them to walk over the bodies again, this time in complete silence. Uriah felt guilty; although he hadn't killed anyone, his faction had. He didn't have the courage to ask Zeke or Christina if they had shot anyone, but judging by the looks on their faces when he found them, they would also have baggage from this horrible day.

There was a concentration of bodies in front of the Council building; Tobias wondered if they had come here to seek help or shelter. He carefully navigated his way up the steps, and laid Natalie down. He and Uriah took a moment to look through the offices and cubicles, but Andrew was the only one inside. Tobias was surprised when Uriah took the initiative and picked him up, placing him outside next to Natalie.

"Who were they?" he asked as he looked down at their bodies.

"I know their daughter. She's back where we're going."

Uriah frowned. "Does she know?" Tobias shook his head. He wasn't certain if Tris fully understood what had happened to Natalie.

Tobias bent down and grabbed the Priors' hands, clasping them together as best as he could when Natalie's ring caught his eye. He slipped it off, grabbing Andrew's, too. Uriah raised an eyebrow before catching on: the Abnegation didn't have any keepsakes or photographs. This was something Four could take back to their daughter. Uriah looked them over once more before turning to the other bodies: he silently asked for their forgiveness, and hoped that they had all found peace.

They continued their silence as they made their way back to the others, Tobias quickly leading them through the tunnel and instructing them to get into the van. "Not without more of an explanation," Christina said, looking Tobias over. He was an intimidating presence, yet struck her as someone she would want to keep as an ally.

"Get in the van or stay here. Your choice," Amar said as he walked away. Christina huffed before climbing in the back with Zeke and Uriah.

The three listened patiently as Amar filled them in on what had happened since he left Dauntless, and what was happening now at the Bureau. Zeke would open his mouth to speak occasionally, though he never got anything out; it all felt so implausible, but it had to be real. Amar was alive, they were outside of the city, and nobody was stopping them. When he was finished speaking, Amar expected an array of questions, but there was only one.

"So, what do we do now?" Uriah's voice was small, unsure.

"We do what we have to do to set things right." Tobias looked at Amar, at the pain and the determination on his face, and knew his words rang true. Rescuing Tris was just the first step. They couldn't leave the people in the city to fend for themselves, living a lie that David was perpetuating for reasons unknown. They needed to deal with David, to contact whoever he answered to, and they needed to tell the citizens of Chicago the truth.

Tobias crouched in the back of the van with the others as Amar pulled up to the fence. They knew there was a chance that they would be caught coming in, that David would be aware of what was happening, but they were let in with ease and greeted by Jones as soon as they stopped the van.

"Everything is eerily quiet," he said, his eyes flicking to the newcomers. "Not a single alarm has been raised and nothing's being done about the city. It's like none of it is happening."

"Tris?" Tobias asked.

"Safe in the infirmary. Ruby is with her. She's friends with one of the on-duty nurses, so she's keeping things quiet. Amar filled them in on everything when they were brought in. She kept crying, so they thought it was best to put her under a little sedation so she can sleep and recover. I still can't believe…" He trailed off for a moment before his eyes snapped back to Tobias. "I'm just glad we got her back."

Tobias gave him a firm nod, quelling his own selfish desire to run to her side and never leave it. He turned to Amar and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Gotta blend these guys in, and probably hide you," he said.

Amar sent Jones back inside to fetch some clothes; Zeke, Uriah, and Christina all changed to look more like Bureau patrol while Tobias hid himself underneath the hood of an oversized sweater. When Amar was satisfied, he gave the three newcomers instructions on how to get to the control room, just in case.

"Neil took down most of the cameras. Been playing it off like it had something to do with the power outage," Jones said, smiling widely at his own idea.

"And David?" Tobias asked as they began to move.

He shrugged. "Holed up in his office, I assume."

They split into two groups and moved through different hallways until they were all safely in the control room. Tobias and Amar gave Zeke, Uriah, and Christina basic information on how the Bureau worked, showed them a layout of the building, and answered the few questions they had. The three of them looked understandably appalled after finding out everything they knew was a lie, but they were more than willing to fight, to set things right, and to make sure the parties responsible for the deception were held accountable.

"I need to see Tris first," Tobias said. "Then we need to find Matthew and go from there." Amar agreed, directing the newcomers towards the infirmary, splitting into groups once again.

Jones was correct that the Bureau was eerily calm. The main floor still had working cameras, so Tobias kept his head down, avoiding everything and everyone as he quickly cut through. Amar was bolder as he stopped to check in with Neil who quietly let him know that all the cameras would be back up in no more than fifteen minutes. Amar thanked him before letting him know that things would be happening soon, and that he might want to take shelter somewhere safe. Neil shook his head and smiled, assuring Amar that he would also go down with the ship if that's what it took.

Tobias stiffened when he entered Tris's room; Caleb was sitting next to her, holding her hand. He tried to hold his head high and keep eye contact with Tobias, but he eventually stood, giving the chair to him.

Tobias tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, watching her slow, rhythmic breathing, noticing for the first time the bruise on her cheek. He looked over to Caleb who seemed to crouch further into himself. Tobias had to take a moment to remember that it wasn't completely his fault; Caleb seemed remorseful, and from what Tobias knew, Jeanine was incredibly persuasive.

"How long has she been asleep?" he asked.

"Since we got here. A couple hours," Caleb answered. "She's finally sleeping peacefully."

Tobias felt his stomach knot up; he didn't want to disturb her while she was healing — and hopefully forgetting — but she needed to be a part of this, too. "How long until she wakes up?"

"As soon as we take the IV out," Ruby answered. "It only keeps her asleep as long as she's hooked up."

"Do it."

He waited patiently while Ruby shut things down and unhooked her, grateful that she had a medical background so nobody else had to be involved. Tris stirred within a few minutes and let out a small whimper.

"Tris," Tobias said, shaking her gently. Her arms flew out as she scrambled to sit up, eyes darting around until they found him. She looked around again, taking in the new and the familiar faces as well as the room. Her hand was tentative, gentle as she reached out for Tobias, squeezing his hand when she found it.

"Could you guys give us a minute?" Tobias asked. Amar sighed then nodded, instructing them to go through the door that led to an adjoining room rather than out into the hallway. "Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

"I don't really know," she said. She rubbed her thumb against his hand and looked over the room again before focusing on him. Her eyes stung as the tears started to form; he was looking at her with so much love and concern. Tobias gave her a tender smile before pulling her hand to his mouth and kissing it.

"When I saw Marcus, when he was carrying me…" She paused for a moment, her lip quivering as she looked away. "I've been waiting for it all to not be real. So many times I let myself believe, and so many times I fell for it. I saw you and my mother. Even Matthew a couple times. But then I kept waking up in that room or that cell, over and over and over. And then I didn't wake up. Everything was happening all around me, and I knew it was really happening. I knew, but I still doubted everything. I'm… I'm still not sure."

Tobias leaned forward slowly, pulling her towards him and wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay," he whispered. "I'm here. I'm really here." She closed her eyes and pressed herself into him, inhaling his scent, memorizing again all the things she had fought so hard to hold onto. Her fingers laced with his as she took a moment to relax, to remind herself that she was safe as long as Tobias was by her side.

"I have something to tell you." She pulled away and nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. Tobias was hesitant as he reached into his pocket, closing his hand around the two rings. He knew she was hurting, but he also knew he couldn't keep this from her. He took a deep breath and pulled them out, holding his palm open. Her eyes flicked down then back up, confusion evident on her face.

"I don't know if your memory is…" He looked around nervously, a hand going up to scratch the back of his neck. "Your mom—"

"I remember," she whispered.

He continued on as gently as he could. "Abnegation is gone, Tris. But I made sure, for you, that they were together."

Tris understood then exactly what he meant. She shook her head slightly, hoping that maybe he was wrong, that there was some sort of mistake. Her eyes drifted down to the rings in his hand; all Abnegation rings were identical, they could belong to anyone. But as soon as they touched her fingertips, she felt a connection to them and she knew.

She let out a stuttered breath as she slipped them onto her finger and held them close to her heart. Tobias gave her a moment, waiting for her to unleash a flood of tears, but none came. She began rocking back and forth, willing herself to wake up and realize that it had all been one terrible nightmare; she would open her eyes to see her mother's loving face telling her it was time to get ready for school, and her father would be at the table, reading the paper while they had breakfast. She never took the aptitude test, merely dreamt it, and she never heard the word Divergent. She even imagined that she had never met Tobias. She could have saved them, she thought, if she had simply stayed in the city.

She slowly opened her eyes to see that nothing had changed. "I need to be alone. I need to… think."

"Tris, we don't really have time—"

"I don't care!"

Tobias pulled back, unsure where her outburst came from. He waited for her to look up, to acknowledge that it wasn't because of him, but her gaze was fixed on the bed in front of her. "Fine," he said tersely, joining the others in the adjacent room.

Caleb made a move to go back to her, but Tobias caught his eyes and shook his head slowly. Caleb dropped his gaze to the floor and shrank back into the corner with Cara.

"I'm glad she's okay," Tobias heard, and turned to see Matthew.

"I wouldn't exactly call her that," Tobias muttered. "But we need to move, we need to plan. What have we learned?"

"David answers to an agency called the North American Alliance — the NAA. The results from our testing, all of it, are sent directly to them. After that, I have no idea what happens. I found some correspondence from the NAA stating that they were worried about the experiment, that it wasn't achieving the results they desired, especially since this is one of the older experiments."

"Wait. We aren't the only one? How many are there?" Caleb asked.

"Active? Three, I believe."

"How many have been shut down?"

"Over the years, I can't even begin to guess. But I got a message out telling the NAA exactly what's been happening, and that all the reports they've been receiving over the years have been falsified. No response yet, but that's not all." Matthew took a moment to look at each one of them before taking a deep breath. "Just before you got back, I overheard David talking to someone. They're voting on a reset. They've probably already done it."

"Shit," Amar muttered.

"Reset?" Christina asked, looking at Zeke, then Uriah. "I know we're the new guys here, but you gotta start filling us in."

"To put it simply, it means they are going to wipe the memories of everyone in the city, and restart the experiment."

"But our friends and family," Zeke said. "I mean, if they're still…"

"They are." Uriah gave his brother a hard look. "How can we stop it?"

Matthew shook his head. "I don't know if we can."

The group stood silently for a moment as they each contemplated the implications of what could happen. Uriah comforted Christina while Zeke stared off into the corner of the room. Tobias felt guilty, having no one in the city left to care about; the only people he cared for were either standing beside him or safely lying down in the next room.

"There's always a chance they won't," Tobias said, trying to reassure the others. "It's not something that is easy to implement once it's agreed upon. They'd need more help than they have here to catch everyone early enough to give them new memories and a new life. I still don't understand how they did it before."

"Before?" Cara said, looking around the room. "When?"

"A couple generations before us," Matthew answered quietly.

"Why?"

"War." The room was quiet again as they looked at each other. "Makes it kind of hard to learn from past mistakes if you don't know what they are."

Uriah nodded along, before speaking up. "Wait, we're not going to be affected, are we?"

"No, we're too far away. Besides, we have vaccines just in case."

"Then let's give the vaccines to our families! That way it won't matter," Uriah said, smiling.

"We would if it was that easy," Amar answered. "But first, we don't have access to the vaccines. And second, even if we did, you'd have to get there before the plane, find your friends and family, and inoculate them in front of everyone else. You know, the people you don't have vaccines for. Does that sound like something you want to do in front of a bunch of Dauntless?"

Uriah's smile vanished. "Plane?" he said after a moment.

"Air travel," Amar said, dismissing Uriah's curious streak. "Look, I'm not trying to downplay the seriousness of the situation; it's just very complicated."

Caleb cleared his throat and took a step forward. "What if we do it?" The group looked around at each other for a moment, waiting for him to elaborate. "We could just use their own serum against them. They can't erase the city if they can't remember it."

"You want to erase the Bureau?" Tobias asked.

"Well, yeah. I mean, they're calling the shots, right? If we can stop them, then we can control the situation. We can make them do whatever we want."

"Caleb, I'm not so sure—"

"Let's do it."

Tobias turned to see Tris standing in the doorway. She had changed into the clothes Ruby had brought for her, and Tobias was relieved to see her looking more like herself. She had that spark in her eye, the one he fell in love with, and it took everything he had to not scoop her into his arms and tell her how glad he was that she was back.

"I am not going to sit here while they let the city destroy itself, and I'm definitely not going to allow them to just erase what's left after everything is said and done." There was a flash in her eyes, and Tobias knew she was serious. "We need to fight back. We need to tell the people the truth, and let them decide for once. I am not a lab rat." Her voice was strained as she looked directly at Caleb. "And neither are they."

"I agree," Cara said, stepping forward. "But where do we start?"

"I think I can help with that," Matthew said, a smile crossing his face. "Those in charge aren't the only ones keeping secrets."

A/N:

I honestly can't thank you guys enough for the kind reviews and PMs you send me. It's almost overwhelming, and I sit here sometimes reading them over in total shock because I just never expected this type of response. I know I say it all the time, but I do mean it. Thank you.